by Diane Rufino, October 18, 2023
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson, second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence (1776)
In this simple, yet eloquent declaration of independence, it is apparent that our founding values and principles include the right of equality and to inalienable (non-transferable) rights that include life (most important), liberty (a very close second), and the pursuit of happiness (often interpreted as the pursuit of property and all the happiness it brings).
The foundations of the government of the United States are oriented around the ideas of liberty, self-governance, and equality as articulated in the natural rights tradition of John Locke and others. This tradition holds that, by nature of their existence, human beings possess rights, independent of any governing or societal power. In the maintenance of these rights natural rights thinkers saw the greatest possibility for individuals to flourish through the freedom to direct their own lives. The people maintain their freedom and rights through formal institutions of government and informal community traditions and institutions. This maintenance requires the people to be vigilant and informed in order to ensure that these institutions are directed towards their right ends. It was an understanding of these fundamental principles that informed the design of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. In fact, it was the Declaration of Independence that pronounced to “a candid world” that the American colonies were separating from Great Britain and denouncing its long-held tradition that its government is based on the principle of “the divine right of kings.” In fact, it listed all 27 grievances against the King and Parliament and announced that the colonies would thereafter be independent and would establish governments based on the principle of “Individual Sovereignty” which is the notion that it is the People who are the ultimate sovereigns and that, as the Declaration states: “…… That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness….”
Having been an essential and influential Founding Father, President John Adams, in a speech (1798) to the military warned: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other…..”
We all learned in our history classes that the earliest settlers came to the North American continent to establish colonies that were free from the tyrants and other controls that existed in European societies (the “divine right of kings”). They wanted to escape the controls placed on many aspects of their lives by kings and governments, priests and churches, noblemen and aristocrats. As Benjamin Franklin articulated in 1774: “The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy.”
In their quest and determination to escape the control of Great Britain, the American colonies, to a great extent, succeeded. In 1776, the British colonial settlers declared their independence from England in Jefferson’s famous Declaration of Independence and established a new nation, the united States of America – a federation of individual and sovereign States. In so doing, they defied the king of England and declared that the power to govern would lie in the hands of the people, the original, natural, and ultimate sovereigns.
They were now free from the divine right and power of the British kings. In 1787, when they wrote the Constitution for their new nation, they separated church and state so that there would never be a government-supported church. This greatly limited the power of the church. Also, in writing the Constitution they expressly forbade titles of nobility to ensure that an aristocratic society would not develop. There would be no ruling class of noblemen in the new nation.
The historic decisions made by those first settlers have had a profound effect on the shaping of the American character. By limiting the power of the government and the churches and eliminating a formal aristocracy, the early settlers created a climate of freedom where the emphasis was on the individual. The united States came to be associated in their minds with the concept of individual freedom…. With Liberty! This is probably the most basic of all the American values. Scholars and outside observers often call this value individualism, but many Americans use the word freedom. It is one of the most respected and popular words in the United States today.
By freedom, Americans mean the desire and the right of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the government, a ruling noble class, the church, or any other organized authority. It’s what we mean when we talk about Liberty. The desire to be free of controls was a basic value of the new nation in 1776, and apparently, it has continued to attract people from other countries and territories to America.
There is, however, a cost for this benefit of individual freedom: self-reliance. Individuals must learn to rely on themselves or risk losing freedom. Ronald Reagan once warned the American people: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
(Translated to mean that citizens must learn to stand on their own two feet; they must take responsibility for themselves).
This strong belief in self-reliance continues today as a traditional American value. It is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the American character to understand, but it is profoundly important. Most Americans believe that they must be self-reliant in order to keep their freedom. If they rely too much on the support of their families or the government or any organization, they may lose some of their freedom to do what they want. Even if they are not truly self-reliant, most Americans believe they must at least appear to be so. In order to be in the mainstream of American life—to have power and/or respect—individuals must be seen as self-reliant. For example, if adult children return home to live with their parents because of economic conditions or a failed marriage, most members of the family expect this to be a short-term arrangement, until the children can find a job and be self-reliant. Although receiving financial support from charity, family, or the government is possible, it is usually expected to be for a short time, and it is generally not admired. Ideally, most Americans would and should say that people have a responsibility for taking care of themselves.
It is important to understand what most Americans mean when they say they believe in equality of opportunity.
They do not mean that everyone is—or should be—equal. However, they do mean that each individual should have an equal chance for success. Americans see much of life as a race for success. For them, equality means that everyone should have an equal chance to enter the race and win. In other words, equality of opportunity may be thought of as an ethical rule. It helps ensure that the race for success is a fair one and that a person does not win just because he or she was born into a wealthy family or lose because of race or religion. This American concept of “fair play” is an important aspect of the belief in equality of opportunity.
However, the price to be paid for this equality of opportunity is competition. If much of life is seen as a race, then a person must run the race in order to succeed; a person has the responsibility to compete with others, even though we know not everyone will be successful. If every person has an equal chance to succeed in the United States, then many would say that it is every person’s duty to try. It’s not a duty but a privilege of being in this country.
In recent years, with a declining economy, Americans are questioning whether the “American Dream” is in fact dead. For the most part, the American Dream has not meant that the average American can really go from rags to riches. It has traditionally meant that by working hard, parents can enable their children to have a better life when they grow up. “I want my children to be better off than me.” Every generation could be a little more prosperous and successful than their parents. While the distance between the very rich 1% and the rest of the population has dramatically increased over the last years, the overwhelming majority of Americans still believe in the ideal of the American Dream; that is, if they work hard they and their children can have a better life. The ideal of upward mobility still exists in America. However, we must distinguish between idealism and reality in understanding the relationship between what Americans believe and how they live. Some who find that they are working longer hours for less money still hope that the American Dream will exist again, if not for them, then for their children.
The fact that American ideals are only partly carried out in real life does not diminish their importance. Most Americans still believe in them and are strongly affected by them in their everyday lives. It is easier to understand what Americans are thinking and feeling if we can understand what these traditional American cultural values are and how they have influenced almost every facet of life in the United States.
But let’s get back to the topic of this article – “Are We Forgetting America’s Founding Values?” The American system of government is built upon a philosophical foundation that makes an argument for a constitutional republic. The principles contained below define the protections built into the Constitution for this purpose. In understanding these principles, We the People are better able to protect and advance freedom and opportunity for all. The list is not comprehensive but provides a starting place for the investigation of the American experiment in self-government:
Natural/Inalienable Rights – Rights which belong to humans by nature and can only be justly abridged through due process. Examples are life, liberty, and property (and the happiness that property brings).
Liberty – The power to think and act as one sees fit without restraint except by the laws of nature and interfering with someone else’s rights.
Equality – All individuals have the same claim as human beings to natural rights and treatment under the law.
Justice – Having a political order that protects the rights of all equally and treats everyone equally under the law.
Consent & Republican Government – There are principles of republicanism contained in the US Constitution that provide the foundations upon which the sovereignty of the people within government is maintained:
- Majority Rule/Minority Rights – Laws are made with the consent of the majority but do not infringe on the inalienable rights of the minority.
- Consent of the Governed/Popular Sovereignty – The power of government comes from the people.
- Democracy – A form of government in which ultimate authority is based directly on the will of the people.
Republic – A constitutional form of government with elected representatives who represent and serve the interests of the the will of the people.
Patriotism – Pride in one’s citizenship and and love of country.
Limited Government – To keep the governing power to its proper scope, government must be limited and provide recourse for citizens to be protected from arbitrary power.
Rule of Law – Government and citizens all abide by the same laws regardless of political power. Those laws must be stable and justly applied.
Due Process – The government must apply law and rules equally to all people.
To keep government within these limited bounds, there must be rules that bind both individual citizens and government action:
Separation of Powers: The branches of government each have powers to limit the powers of the other branches and to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful.
Checks and Balances: Constitutional powers are distributed among the branches of government allowing each to limit the application of power of the other branches and to prevent expansion of power of any branch.
Federalism: (restated in the Tenth Amendment) The national and state governments have a balance of separate and shared powers. The people delegate certain powers to the national government, while the states retain other powers; and the people retain all powers not delegated to the governing bodies. As James Madison wrote in his essay, Federalist No. 47 in 1788: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
The Bill of Rights: As a final recourse against government abuse, the Founding generation codified a list of rights that they believed were essential to the maintenance of their constitutional governing structure, including:
- Freedom of Religion – The right to choose one’s religion or form of worship, if any, without interference; freedom of conscience. (First Amendment)
- Freedom of Speech, Press, and Assembly – The right to express one’s opinions freely, orally or in writing and the right to gather with others in groups of one’s choice without arbitrary or unreasonable restrictions. (First Amendment)
- The right to be safe and secure in one’s home – Only if the government can show “probable cause” can it secure a warrant to search a citizen’s home and personal effects. (Fourth Amendment)
- Private Property -The natural right of all individuals to create, obtain, and control their possessions, beliefs, faculties, and opinions as well as the fruits of their labor. (Declaration of Independence)
- The reminder that the list of rights in the first ten amendments do not exhaust the rights reserved to the American citizen. (Ninth Amendment)
The maintenance of our republican government requires the people be vigilant, informed, and virtuous, ensuring that governing institutions are directed towards their right ends. Good habits, or virtues, promote self- government and help guarantee that communities orient themselves towards advancing the spirit of a common purpose. A people who can first govern themselves and their actions so as not to deny any other individual of his or her essential rights and privileges can be trusted to establish a government that best serves them and their legitimate interests. They can be trusted to establish a government that treats everyone on an equal basis, without a bias towards friends, family, and political party. A list of those civic virtues include:
- Patrotism – 38 percent of Americans today claim that patriotism is very important to them, compared to 70 percent 25 years ago. You can imagine what a mess our society would be if only 38 percent of people had positive self-esteem. What we have here is the immature cry of spoiled, entitled people—people who have had it too easy; people who seem to believe that we don’t live in a very nice country because not everybody has every good thing given to them on a silver platter. They should see more of the world and then they might better appreciate what we have here in America. Once again, we see the diseased fruit of entitlement and the cult of negativity.
- Courage – The ability to take constructive action in the face of fear or danger. To stand firm as a person of character and do what is right, especially when it is unpopular or puts one at risk.
- Honor – Demonstrating good character and being trustworthy.
- Humility – A recognition that one’s ignorance is far greater than one’s knowledge. Putting others ahead of ourselves in thought, word, and deed. A willingness to give others credit and to admit when we are wrong.
- Integrity – To tell the truth, expose untruths, and keep one’s promises.
- Justice – Equal Justice, that is. Upholding of what is fair and right. Respecting the rights and dignity of all.
- Moderation – The avoidance of excess or extremes.
- Prudence – Practical wisdom that applies reason and other virtues to discern right courses of action in specific situations.
- Respect – Regard for and defending the equal rights and inherent dignity of all human beings, including oneself.
- Responsibility – Acting on good judgment about what is right or wrong even when it is not popular. Individuals must take care of themselves, their families, and their fellow citizens/others in civil society and a republic and be vigilant to preserve their own liberty and the liberty of others.
Equally, there are social and civic vices, of which we currently seeing the consequences. These social and civic vices include:
- Cowardice – Failing to take constructive action in the face of fear or danger. A lack of firmness or conviction.
- Contempt – Showing disregard, disdain, or lack of consideration for someone or something worthy of action or admiration.
- Selfishness – the tendency to put one’s own interests above others, often disregarding their feelings or needs
- Extremism – Acting in excess or to an extreme. Lacking restraint.
- Dishonor – Failing to demonstrate good character, integrity, and acting deceptively.
- Self-Deception – Acting on a belief that a false idea or situation is true. Being deluded or deceived by ideas that endanger the humanity of others and movements that are unjust.
- Injustice – To harm others by applying unequal rules and damaging another’s inalienable rights and dignity.
- Hubris – To have excessive pride, vanity, and arrogance that usually leads to a tragic fall.
- Imprudence – Acting without care or thoughtfulness for consequences. Exercising lack of wisdom appropriate to situations.
- Irresponsibility – Acting on poor judgment or failing the trust others place in you.
It is important to remember a few things about our traditional American values:
(1) They are articulated masterfully in our Declaration of Independence (1776), which I sadly believe is not being taught in today’s classrooms. If Americans truly understood and appreciated the thoughts and advice of our Founding Fathers in that document, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are today. At the very least, we are in a Constitutional crisis. I highly advise everyone to read the Declaration and especially focus on the list of grievances against the King. Read the list again and think about what is going on now in our own country. After over 200 years of ignoring the explanations and advice given to each State in the Federalist Papers (Madison, Hamilton, and Jay), I often think we have more to fear today from our own government in DC than the colonists had to fear from the British Parliament and the King. We have become the very creature that our Founders tried so hard to prevent.
I wrote an article (a very long one) about how government has, for too many years and even starting in George Washington’s administration, usurped powers not delegated to it in the Constitution (taking them away from the rightful parties – the States and the People) and transforming itself into an overly-energetic institution, ignoring the will of the People who elected its officials and using its departments (several of which are unconstitutional) and agencies as weapons to silence and harass those groups and individuals that pose a threat to their power. Yes, the actions against Donald Trump come to mind. Remember, our Founding Fathers were rightly suspicious of the accumulation of governmental power by one person or a governmental body, which, as James Madison once explained, would be “the very definition of tyranny.”
My article is titled “A Re-Declaration of Independence” and can be read at this site – https://forloveofgodandcountry.com/2021/01/23/a-re-declaration-of-independence/.
(2) Our values are traditional, foundational, and fundamental. They reject the “divine rights of Kings” and acknowledge that the country is controlled by the will of the People, the original and ultimate sovereign. That is the reason that the Declaration of Independence is considered a founding document. It was intended as a companion to the US Constitution – intended to enlighten those reading it and understanding it. Government, as stated in the second paragraph of the Declaration, is instituted for the primary purpose of protecting every individual’s inalienable and God-given rights. This is the formula for Liberty. As Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson wrote to then-President George Washington in 1791 offering advice on the constitutionality of a national bank (which was proposed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton): “I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that ‘all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.’ To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” – Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 1791 (President George Washington
(3) As the wise Aristotle said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The relationship among these values – the rights and the responsibilities – creates our nation’s foundation. They create a “limited government” – a government “of the people, by the people, and for the People” and a set of virtuous and moral guidelines on how each of us needs to conform our behavior in an ordered society. Unfortunately, we now have an unlimited government and our current generation is more criminal than intellectual.
(4) America’s history teachers need to teach these values and principles to our students, and we, as parents, need to re-enforce them to our children. We have a duty. We enjoy freedom and liberty (to an extent) but they are slowly slipping away. The very least we can do as American citizens is to teach our children to love this country, to respect her, and to be patriotic. It has been these traditional values that have served a fledgling new country and have sustained us through the years. They are essential to this nation’s continued success. And so, it is imperative that we share them with future generations.
I’ve been told that our nation’s motto is “Truth & Tradition.” Our goal must be to bring back these traditional American values back into our national discourse and our nation’s classrooms and homes.
References:
“America’s Principles and Virtues,” Bill of Rights Institute. Referenced at: https://billofrightsinstitute.org/resources/principles-and-virtues
“Six Basic American Cultural Values,” Vintage American Ways, 2023. Referenced at: https://vintageamericanways.com/american-values/
Diane Rufino, “A Re-Declaration of Independence,” forloveofgodandcountry.com, January 23, 2021.
“Founding Fathers Quotes on the Dangers of Centralized Power in the Ninth & Tenth Amendments,” Ammo.com. Referenced at: https://ammo.com/articles/founding-fathers-quotes-centralized-power-ninth-amendment-tenth-amendment
“Founding Fathers Quotes on the Dangers of Centralized Power in the Ninth & Tenth Amendments,” Ammo.com. Referenced at: https://ammo.com/articles/founding-fathers-quotes-centralized-power-ninth-amendment-tenth-amendment
Master Plan to Save America – https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/a-master-plan-to-heal-america-5253606
Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Speaks About American Values at UC-Davis – https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/conservative-activist-charlie-kirk-speaks-about-american-values-at-uc-davis-5122658
APPENDIX – Quotes from our Founding Fathers on their Novel Plan to Federalize the Individual and Sovereign States under the US Constitution
Individual Liberty
“Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.” – John Adams, 1765
“Without liberty, law loses its nature and its name, and becomes oppression. Without law, liberty also loses its nature and its name, and becomes licentiousness (disregarding accepted rules or conventions).” – James Wilson, Of the Study of the Law in the United States, 1790
“In Europe, charters of liberty have been granted by power. America has set the example … of charters of power granted by liberty. This revolution in the practice of the world, may, with an honest praise, be pronounced the most triumphant epoch of its history, and the most consoling presage of its happiness.” – James Madison, Essays for the National Gazette, 1792
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” – Benjamin Franklin
““We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other….” — President John Adams, in a speech to the military, 1798
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!” – Benjamin Franklin
Federalism
“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.” – James Madison, Federalist 45, 1788
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” – Tenth Amendment, 1791
“I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that ‘all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.’ To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” – Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 1791 (President George Washington ignored his advice and went ahead to support a national bank, as proposed by his Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton)
Limited Government
“The general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws: its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any.” – James Madison, Federalist 14, 1787
“It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.” – James Madison, Federalist 48, 1788
“I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.” – Thomas Jefferson, Letter to James Madison, 1787
“The propriety of a law, in a constitutional light, must always be determined by the nature of the powers upon which it is founded.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 33 (1788)
Separation of Powers
“An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 84 (1788)
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 47 (1788)
“A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 51 (1788)
“The principle of the Constitution is that of a separation of Legislative, Executive and Judiciary functions, except in cases specified. If this principle be not expressed in direct terms, it is clearly the spirit of the Constitution …” – Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, 1797
Representative Government
“As good government is an empire of laws, how shall your laws be made? In a large society, inhabiting an extensive country, it is impossible that the whole should assemble to make laws. The first necessary step, then, is to depute power from the many to a few of the most wise and good.” – John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776
“Pure democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 10 (1787)
“I have no fear that the result of our experiment will be that men may be trusted to govern themselves without a master.” – Thomas Jefferson, Letter to David Hartley, 1787
“We may define a republic to be … a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure for a limited period, or during good behavior.” – James Madison, Federalist No. 39 (1788)
“All Men Are Created Equal”
“The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy.” – Benjamin Franklin, Emblematical Representations, ca. 1774
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – Declaration of Independence, 1776
“I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.” – George Washington, Letter to Robert Morris, 1786
“It is much to be wished that slavery may be abolished. The honour of the States, as well as justice and humanity, in my opinion, loudly call upon them to emancipate these unhappy people. To contend for our own liberty, and to deny that blessing to others, involves an inconsistency not to be excused.” – John Jay, Letter to R. Lushington, 1786
Private Property
“One of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedom of one’s house. A man’s house is his castle.” – James Otis, on the Writs of Assistance, 1761
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.” – John Adams, A Defence of the Constitutions of the Government of the United States of America, 1787
“Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government which impartially secures to every man whatever is his own.” – James Madison, Essay on Property, 1792
“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.” – Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 1801
Tenth Amendment Keepers 